AMHERST – Bobby Trivigno wrapped his arms around Matt Murray as the buzzer sounded the end of their final game at the Mullins Center.
The hug said many things that words are no longer needed for between the two four-year teammates, but, ultimately, the message was simple: thank you.
Murray had just stopped a career-high 45 shots to help the UMass hockey team outlast Providence 4-2 in Saturday’s Hockey East quarterfinals. The seventh-seeded Friars outshot the No. 2 Minutemen 47-19.
“To go deep in the playoffs, your goalie’s got to get hot, and from (Saturday), he’s hot,” Trivigno said. “Anytime I make a mistake or any game like that, the least I can do is thank him for bailing us out and giving his all.”
Murray’s effort helped UMass reach the Hockey East semifinals for the third consecutive tournament, returning to TD Garden for the first time since 2019. The entire tournament was played on campus sites last year and was canceled in 2020.
The Minutemen will face No. 3 UMass Lowell, which beat Merrimack 7-2 in the quarterfinals, in the second game at 7:30 p.m. March 18 at TD Garden. No. 1 Northeastern and No. 4 UConn will meet in the opening semifinal at 4 p.m.
“The first time we went to Boston Garden (in 2019), we weren’t ready for it,” UMass coach Greg Carvel said. “We learned valuable lessons. We’re going to handle things differently. Like the second time we went to the Frozen Four, I think we were much better equipped as a staff to make better decisions to help prepare the guys.”
Murray entered the Mullins Center crease prepared. He turned away the first 24 shots he faced as UMass built a lead. That included early rushes and well-passed chances.
“The more saves, the better I’m going to feel. I think it’s a great way to start the playoff run to get that confidence and that comfort,” Murray said.
Josh Lopina staked UMass its early lead with two first-period goals. He struck first from long range 4:30 in, firing a blast from the point through traffic that tucked into the back of the net. It was atypical for Lopina, who regularly scores on rebounds and deflections, anything close to the net. Trivigno and Ryan Ufko assisted the play.
“That might be the furthest he’s ever been away from the net to score a goal, add all the other ones up together,” Carvel joked. “That’s pretty far out for him.”
Here’s a look at @josh_lopina’s 11th of the season from @BobbyTrivigno and @RyanUfko ⬇ï¸#NewMass x #Flagship 🚩 pic.twitter.com/wIcTbrPusw
— UMass Hockey (@UMassHockey) March 13, 2022
His second came on the power play. Providence’s Parker Ford was caught hooking, giving UMass a man advantage at 8:24. It took the Minutemen 1:27 to cash in. Lopina redirected a Scott Morrow pass into the net, the type of goal he typically scores for UMass. Ufko added an assist.
It was a set play UMass runs on its power play executed to perfection. The Minutemen only earned one power play in the game but capitalized on the opportunity.
“Would have been nice to get some others. Our power play has been really good, great job by the (penalty kill),” Carvel said.
Providence went 0-for-3 on the power play with nine shots.
“Goaltenders and special teams, those were the only areas we were better than them,” Carvel said. “That’s all you need some nights.”
The tenor of the first period shifted when Anthony Del Gaizo delivered a massive hit against Providence’s Jamie Engelbert right in front of the UMass bench. Engelbert stayed down on the ice, and Del Gaizo was assessed with a roughing penalty that was immediately reviewed for a major. The minor penalty call was upheld.
“It’s hard, Jamie extends himself, it’s a neutral zone and he extends himself, in some ways he put himself in an awkward spot,” Providence coach Nate Leaman said. “It could have gone either way.”
UMass killed the penalty in part thanks to four saves from Murray.
Trivigno extended the lead to 3-0 7:03 into the third in transition. He carried the puck across the blue line with Aaron Boehlinger to his right. A toe drag dropped Providence defenseman Max Crozier to the ice, clearing Trivigno an open lane to snipe his 18th goal of the season.
Almost out of nowhere, Providence responded from an otherwise lull seven minutes later. Bruins draft pick Riley Duran deflected a Max Crozier shot in a quiet moment of play to put the Friars on the board with 5:59 left in the period.
The Friars increased their pressure on UMass’ net as the game wore on. Murray made 31 of his 45 saves in the final two periods, when Providence outshot the Minutemen 31-13.
“Matt Murray was the difference. You gotta tip your hat to him,” Leaman said. “I thought he was Superman. Even to the last point, we were getting great chances, we were getting great looks. He was clearly the difference in the game.”
The Friars pulled Jaxson Stauber (15 saves) with 2:48 left trying to turn a two-goal deficit to one. Instead it grew to three just 27 short seconds later when Cal Kiefiuk flicked the puck from the right corner behind Murray all the way into Providence’s open net.
Providence reinstated Stauber but didn’t lessen its pressure. Matt Koopman scored with 1:36 left from Kolen Olischefski to add some drama to the final 100 seconds.
UMass’ all-time leader in wins (71), saves (3,593) shutouts (14) ensured that was all of the theatrics the Mullins Center would see under his watch. He stopped two more shots to send the Minutemen to TD Garden as one of Boston’s quintessential anthems, the Dropkick Murphys’ ‘I’m Shipping Up to Boston’ blared over the speakers.
“I was given this opportunity when I came back from coach Carvel and it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to come back to a place you love and be a contributing member of the team,” Murray said. “That’s just what I’m trying to do every night, is do my part for the team.”
The assembled UMass faithful sent the team off the ice with a standing ovation. As they started to filter out, the Minutemen – players, coaches, staff – all gathered around the center ice face off circle and leaned their heads in, arm in arm.
They’re not coming back to the Mullins Center. Now it’s up to them to see how far they can go. The victory potentially secured an NCAA Tournament berth for the Minutemen for the third event in a row. The defending national champions improved from 12th to 11th in the Pairwise rankings with the victory, and either result against UMass Lowell in the semifinals likely won’t sink them.
For the last time at Mullins, everyone together pic.twitter.com/opQTsuK9S3
— Kyle Grabowski (@kylegrbwsk) March 13, 2022
“We don’t talk about it as a staff. We don’t talk about it as a team,” Carvel said. “I thought I saw (Saturday) that we were very close to clinching. We beat a good team. You get to 20 wins, it usually puts you in a good spot.”
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @kylegrbwsk.